''Firestorm: Thunderhawk 2'', known as ''Thunderstrike 2'' in North America, is a 1995

combat flight simulation Combat flight simulators are vehicle simulation games, amateur flight simulation computer programs used to simulate military aircraft and their operations. These are distinct from dedicated flight simulators used for professional pilot and milit ...

video game A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...

developed and published by

Core Design Core Design Limited (known as Rebellion (Derby) Ltd between 2006 and 2010) was a British video game developer based in Derby. Founded in May 1988 by former Gremlin Graphics employees, it originally bore the name Megabrite until rebranding as Co ...

for

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Sega Saturn The is a home video game console developed by Sega and released on November 22, 1994, in Japan, May 11, 1995, in North America, and July 8, 1995, in Europe. Part of the fifth generation of video game consoles, it is the successor to the succes ...

and

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. It is the sequel to '' Thunderhawk AH-73M''.

Gameplay

''Firestorm: Thunderhawk 2'' is a

combat flight simulator Combat flight simulators are vehicle simulation games, amateur flight simulation computer programs used to simulate military aircraft and their operations. These are distinct from dedicated flight simulators used for professional pilot and mil ...

in which the player pilots a fictional attack helicopter, the AH-73M, through a series of missions around the world. The game consists of eight campaigns, taking place in locations such as the

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, and the

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. While the player can choose a campaign in any order, missions must be completed chronologically. The AH-73M is controlled by turning, altering altitudes, and accelerating or decelerating the helicopter. The player can choose to view the action from various viewpoints, including views from outside the helicopter or from within a cockpit. The AH-73M is armed with a variety of weapons, which includes a

chain gun A chain gun is a type of autocannon or machine gun that uses an external source of power to cycle the weapon's action via a continuous loop of chain, similar to that used on a motorcycle or bicycle, instead of diverting excess energy from the ...

missile A missile is an airborne ranged weapon capable of self-propelled flight aided usually by a propellant, jet engine or rocket motor. Historically, 'missile' referred to any projectile that is thrown, shot or propelled towards a target; this ...

rocket A rocket (from , and so named for its shape) is a vehicle that uses jet propulsion to accelerate without using any surrounding air. A rocket engine produces thrust by reaction to exhaust expelled at high speed. Rocket engines work entirely ...

s, and

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s. Most of the weapons, except for a chain gun, uses a limited supply of ammunition. It is possible for the player to heavily customise the weaponry on their AH-73M before the beginning of each mission. The

heads-up display A head-up display, or heads-up display, also known as a HUD () or head-up guidance system (HGS), is any see-through display, transparent display that presents data without requiring users to look away from their usual viewpoints. The origin of t ...

shows an armour level, a

mini-map A mini-map or minimap is a miniature map HUD (video games), HUD element that is often placed at a screen corner in video games to help players in orienting themselves within the game world. They are often only a small portion of the screen and mu ...

, a compass, a radar for displaying targets, and the currently selected weapon. The HUD also shows a radar detection warning display, which warns the player when the enemy is tracking their flight path and has locked on to them. When the player either completes or fails the mission, the result indicator is displayed and they are free to leave the mission zone. After completing a mission, the debrief screen appears, showing the percentage of kills and points awarded. The player is awarded with a medal for successfully completing a mission, and a

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for completing the entire campaign. A demerit is also awarded for failing to complete the mission objective, or leaving the mission zone without destroying all the primary targets; the player is grounded if three demerits are awarded in any one campaign.

Development

''Firestorm: Thunderhawk 2'' was created by the British studio

, as a sequel to the original '' Thunderhawk''. Sarah Avory served as a lead

programmer A programmer, computer programmer or coder is an author of computer source code someone with skill in computer programming. The professional titles Software development, ''software developer'' and Software engineering, ''software engineer' ...

, while Martin Iveson handled the game's

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and

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s. The game was developed simultaneously for the PC, Saturn, and PlayStation, with the PC as the lead platform. According to Avory, the game took very little time to develop since it reused the game engine from ''Thunderhawk''; it took only one month to create a playable version for the PC, and just a few days to port this early version over to both the PlayStation and Saturn. With this accomplished, the team set about adding additional missions, troops, and bug fixes, working towards a release date of 4 December 1995 for all three versions. In Japan, the Sega Saturn version of ''Thunderhawk 2'' was released by

Victor Entertainment is a subsidiary of JVCKenwood that produces and distributes music, movies and other entertainment products such as anime and television shows in Japan. It is known as JVC Entertainment in countries where Sony Music Entertainment operates the RC ...

on 23 February 1996, followed by the PlayStation version on 24 May. An

Atari Jaguar CD The Atari Jaguar CD is a CD-ROM peripheral for the Jaguar video game console. Only 13 games were released for the Jaguar CD during its lifetime. However, previously unfinished and homebrew games have since been released. History Atari announc ...

port was planned but never released.

Reception

The PlayStation and Sega Saturn versions received mostly positive reviews. Common subjects of praise included the fun of destroying enemies and scenery, the large number of missions, and the use of contemporary real world scenarios and weaponry. Critics generally complimented the heavily detailed and realistic graphics, but reprimanded the

draw distance Draw, drawing, draws, or drawn most commonly refer to: * Draw (terrain), a terrain feature formed by two parallel ridges or spurs with low ground in between them * Draw (tie), in a competition, where competitors achieve equal outcomes * Drawi ...

problems, particularly the considerable pop-up. However, even the game's sternest critics concluded it to be far better than contemporary flight simulators, such as '' Wing Arms'' and '' Black Fire''. In 1996,

GamesMaster ''GamesMaster'' was a British television programme which originally aired on Channel 4 from 1992 to 1998. In 2021, it returned for a new series on YouTube and E4. It was the first UK television programme dedicated to video games. Dominik Di ...

ranked the game 9th on their "The GamesMaster Saturn Top 10".

Sequel

''Firestorm: Thunderhawk 2'' was followed by its sequel '' Thunderhawk: Operation Phoenix''.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Firestorm: Thunderhawk 2 1995 video games Cancelled Atari Jaguar games Combat flight simulators Core Design games DOS games Helicopter video games PlayStation (console) games Sega Saturn games Single-player video games U.S. Gold games Video games developed in the United Kingdom